Victor Pelevin

[Freewheeling Andy]

I've just started a Victor Pelevin book on the back of a couple of recommendations of weirdish acquaintances (one on an internet forum thing). It seems brilliant and deranged and very modern. Does anyone else know anything, or have any pointers? I'm reading Babylon. The most famous of his is, I think, The Clay Machine Gun. It's cynical and funny, but probably not everyone's cup of tea (although it probably should be).

[Freewheeling Andy]

Right. Victor Pelevin, on the basis of one book, is a very, very exciting author. I doubt he'd be to everyone's tastes but this is high quality literature with more ideas in most sentences than many authors use to fill entire books. I'm now excited about reading his other novels, and his short stories. What is it? Very cynical, very satirical, quite funny, slightly buddhist, vaguely druggy, Russian, intense and engrossing. My brain is full now.

[Kenny_Shovel]

So then Andy, have you read further Pelevin books or do you need pointing in the right direction?

[Freewheeling Andy]

I've not read any more yet. I've go t a stupidly big to-read shelf at the moment, and frankly the more I thought about Babylon the less I really liked it. There was too much of the drug stuff, I thought.

What would you point me towards?

[Kenny_Shovel]

I wouldn't if you don't really like the guy. But for the record, The Clay Machine-Gun & Oman Ra are both as good as Babylon, the Blue Lantern is a thought provoking collection of short stories and The Helmet of Horror an excellant take on an old story; my review of it can be found here.
http://www.bookandreader.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11240
The only one of his books I couldn't get into was The Life of Insects.